Prime Minister of Belgium
Premier |image = Charles Michel UNDP 2010.jpg |imagesize = 165px |incumbent = Charles Michel |incumbentsince = 11 October 2014 |style = |department = Executive branch of the Belgian Federal Government |member_of = Belgian Federal Cabinet European Council |residence = Number 16, Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat |appointer = Monarch of Belgium |termlength = No term limit |formation = 26 February 1831 |succession = |inaugural = Étienne de Gerlache (as Chief of Government) Léon Delacroix (as Prime Minister) |website = premier.fgov.be }} The Prime Minister of Belgium ( ; ; ) or the Premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government in the Kingdom of Belgium. Although Leaders of Government (French: ) had been appointed since the independence of the country, until 1918 the King often presided over the Council of Ministers, so the modern era of the "Premiership" started after World War I with Léon Delacroix. The political importance of the King of the Belgians has decreased over time, whereas the position of Prime Minister has gradually become more important. History Since the independence of Belgium in 1830, governments have been designated with the name of the minister who formed the government as formateur, but that position did not have a specific status. Originally, from 1831 the King of the Belgians presided over the Council of Ministers, but when he was absent, the presidency was taken by the chef de cabinet (Head of Cabinet), usually the oldest or most influential minister. This position gradually became more prominent, and the minister with this title then soon acquired the competency to present the King with the proposed allocation of the various ministerial departments among the ministers. The title of Prime Minister or Premier was used for the first time in 1918 in official documents and it is at this time that the position was assigned to its own cabinet. Only in 1970 the title was incorporated in the Belgian Constitution with the first state reform. Gradually, the Head of Cabinet replaced the King more often during the first half of the twentieth century, and as such gained importance within government. Nevertheless, given his newly acquired prominence, as a member of the cabinet the Head of Cabinet continued to lead a ministerial department. With the expansion of voting rights after World War I, more political parties started to win seats in parliament—especially the Belgian Socialist Party—and this made it impossible to achieve an absolute majority in parliament. Since then, coalition governments have been necessary, which has made the task of forming a government by the appointed formateur more difficult. Consequently, the formateur increasingly gained greater respect, and much prestige. Thus the formateur became prominent as a position of leadership. As the ministers of the government now represented various political parties, there was a need for someone to coordinate the proceedings of the various ministers. The Prime Minister was now asserted as the actual head of government, and this is how the office of Prime Minister came into existence. Function Besides coordinating government policies, the Prime Minister is responsible for the proper execution of the coalition agreement. He also presides at meetings of the Council of Ministers and manages conflicts of competencies between the ministers. In addition, the Prime Minister represents the government coalition in public, both at home and abroad. It is the Prime Minister who maintains contact with the King and presents the government policy statement in the Parliament. He can also ask Parliament for a vote of confidence, which can even lead to the government's resignation in the case of a constructive vote of no confidence. Unless the Prime Minister resigns because of a personal matter, the whole government resigns when he resigns. The Prime Minister also represents Belgium in the various international organisations, alongside the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Due to the state reform, the Prime Minister acquired a number of additional tasks, such as keeping in check the relations between the different regions and communities of the country, and presiding at the deliberative committee that consists of the governmental representatives of all the federal entities. Appointment The day after the federal elections, the incumbent Prime Minister offers the resignation of his government to the King. The King then asks the resigning government to continue as a caretaker government until a new government is formed. The King then consults a number of prominent politicians in order to ascertain the different possibilities of forming a government. He usually consults the presidents of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate, the most important political parties, and other people of political and socio-economic importance. After the consultations, the King appoints an informateur who is in charge of collecting information from the different political parties about their demands for formation of a new government. After these consultations, the informateur reports to the King so that the King can find a suitable formateur, who is responsible for forming the government. Usually, it is the formateur of the federal government who then becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister or Premier is appointed by the King, alongside the other ministers and secretaries of state of the federal government. As the head of government, he is the first to be appointed. As the King cannot perform any executive action without the consent and responsibility of a minister, the Act of Appointment of the new Prime Minister is signed by the resigning Prime Minister. Subsequently, the new Prime Minister signs the Act of Resignation of the resigning Prime Minister. Official residence The official residence and office of the Prime Minister is located at 16 Rue de la Loi (Wetstraat in Dutch, or "Law Street" in translation) among many notable Belgian government and European Union buildings in the centre of Brussels and around the Brussels Park. The residence includes the Belgian Federal Cabinet, the Chancellery and the Council of Ministers. It functions as the nerve center of Belgian politics. The building was originally erected as the so-called "Refuge House" by the Saint Gertrude Abbey of Leuven. It was designed by the Belgian-Austrian architect Louis Joseph Montoyer.Wetstraat 16 - virtueel bezoek - de ingang - premier.fgov.be, Aardse wetstraat, warandepark.blogspot.com (15/12/2007) At the time of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815–1830), the building was planned to be used as the location for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Wetstraat 16 - virtueel bezoek - de ingang - premier.fgov.be In 1830 it was purchased by Prince Eugène of Ligne,Wetstraat 16 - virtueel bezoek - de hal - premier.fgov.be and from 1944, the building became state property after which it was furnished to function as a meeting place for the prime minister and his cabinet. Kingdom of Belgium (1831–present) Chiefs of Government ;Political parties |Independent|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} |Catholic Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} |Liberal Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} Timeline from 1831 till 1919 ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Colors = id:independent value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8) legend: Independent id:catholic value:rgb(1,0.6,0) legend: Catholic id:liberal value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Liberal id:gray1 value:gray(0.8) id:gray2 value:gray(0.9) DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1831 till:01/01/1919 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1835 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1831 Legend = columns:4 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:100 TextData = pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Political parties:" BarData = barset:PM PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM from: 27/02/1831 till: 10/03/1831 color:independent text:"de Gerlache" fontsize:10 from: 10/03/1831 till: 24/07/1831 color:independent text:"Lebeau I" fontsize:10 from: 24/07/1831 till: 20/10/1832 color:independent text:"de Muelenaere" fontsize:10 from: 20/10/1832 till: 04/08/1834 color:independent text:"Goblet d'Alviella—Rogier" fontsize:10 from: 04/08/1834 till: 18/04/1840 color:independent text:"de Theux de Meylandt I" fontsize:10 from: 18/04/1840 till: 13/04/1841 color:independent text:"Lebeau II" fontsize:10 from: 13/04/1841 till: 30/07/1845 color:independent text:"Nothomb" fontsize:10 from: 30/07/1845 till: 31/03/1846 color:independent text:"Van de Weyer" fontsize:10 from: 31/03/1846 till: 12/08/1847 color:independent text:"de Theux de Meylandt II" fontsize:10 from: 12/08/1847 till: 31/10/1852 color:liberal text:"Rogier I" fontsize:10 from: 31/10/1852 till: 30/03/1855 color:liberal text:"de Brouckère" fontsize:10 from: 30/03/1855 till: 09/11/1857 color:independent text:"de Decker" fontsize:10 from: 09/11/1857 till: 03/01/1868 color:liberal text:"Rogier II" fontsize:10 from: 03/01/1868 till: 02/07/1870 color:liberal text:"Frère-Orban I" fontsize:10 from: 02/07/1870 till: 07/12/1871 color:catholic text:"d'Anethan" fontsize:10 from: 07/12/1871 till: 21/08/1874 color:catholic text:"de Theux de Meylandt (Malou I)" fontsize:10 from: 21/08/1874 till: 19/06/1878 color:catholic text:"Malou I" fontsize:10 from: 19/06/1878 till: 16/06/1884 color:liberal text:"Frère-Orban II" fontsize:10 from: 16/06/1884 till: 26/10/1884 color:catholic text:"Malou II" fontsize:10 from: 26/10/1884 till: 26/03/1894 color:catholic text:"Beernaert" fontsize:10 from: 26/03/1894 till: 25/02/1896 color:catholic text:"de Burlet" fontsize:10 from: 25/02/1896 till: 24/01/1899 color:catholic text:"de Smet de Naeyer I" fontsize:10 from: 24/01/1899 till: 05/08/1899 color:catholic text:"Vandenpeereboom" fontsize:10 from: 05/08/1899 till: 02/05/1907 color:catholic text:"de Smet de Naeyer II" fontsize:10 from: 02/05/1907 till: 31/12/1907 color:catholic text:"de Trooz" fontsize:10 from: 09/01/1908 till: 17/06/1911 color:catholic text:"Schollaert" fontsize:10 from: 17/06/1911 till: 01/06/1918 color:catholic text:"de Broqueville I" fontsize:10 from: 01/06/1918 till: 21/11/1918 color:catholic text:"Cooreman" fontsize:10 Prime Ministers ;Political parties ;;Christian Democrat |Catholic Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} |Christian Social Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} |Christian Democratic and Flemish|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} ;;Liberal |Liberal Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} |Flemish Liberals and Democrats|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} |Reformist Movement|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} ;;Socialist |Socialist Party|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} Timeline since 1918 ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late Colors = id:liberal value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Liberal id:socialist value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: Socialist id:catholic value:rgb(1,0.6,0) legend: Christian_Democrat id:gray1 value:gray(0.8) id:gray2 value:gray(0.9) DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1918 till:01/01/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1920 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1918 Legend = columns:4 left:150 top:24 columnwidth:100 TextData = pos:(20,27) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Political parties:" BarData = barset:PM PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM from: 21/11/1918 till: 20/11/1920 color:catholic text:"Delacroix I-II" fontsize:10 from: 20/11/1920 till: 16/12/1921 color:catholic text:"Carton de Wiart" fontsize:10 from: 16/12/1921 till: 17/06/1925 color:catholic text:"Theunis" fontsize:10 from: 13/05/1925 till: 17/06/1925 color:catholic text:"Van de Vyvere" fontsize:10 from: 17/06/1925 till: 20/05/1926 color:catholic text:"Poullet" fontsize:10 from: 20/05/1926 till: 06/06/1931 color:catholic text:"Jaspar I-II" fontsize:10 from: 06/06/1931 till: 22/10/1932 color:catholic text:"Renkin" fontsize:10 from: 22/10/1932 till: 20/11/1934 color:catholic text:"de Broqueville II" fontsize:10 from: 20/11/1934 till: 25/03/1935 color:catholic text:"Theunis II" fontsize:10 from: 25/03/1935 till: 24/11/1937 color:catholic text:"Van Zeeland I-II" fontsize:10 from: 24/11/1937 till: 15/05/1938 color:liberal text:"Janson" fontsize:10 from: 15/05/1938 till: 22/02/1939 color:socialist text:"Spaak I" fontsize:10 from: 22/02/1939 till: 12/02/1945 color:catholic text:"Pierlot I-VI" fontsize:10 from: 12/02/1945 till: 13/03/1946 color:socialist text:"Van Acker I-II" fontsize:10 from: 13/03/1946 till: 31/03/1946 color:socialist text:"Spaak II" fontsize:10 from: 31/03/1946 till: 03/08/1946 color:socialist text:"Van Acker III" fontsize:10 from: 03/08/1946 till: 20/03/1947 color:socialist text:"Huysmans I" fontsize:10 from: 20/03/1947 till: 11/08/1949 color:socialist text:"Spaak III-IV" fontsize:10 from: 11/08/1949 till: 08/07/1950 color:catholic text:"G. Eyskens I" fontsize:10 from: 08/07/1950 till: 16/08/1950 color:catholic text:"Duvieusart" fontsize:10 from: 16/08/1950 till: 15/01/1952 color:catholic text:"Pholien I" fontsize:10 from: 15/01/1952 till: 23/04/1954 color:catholic text:"Van Houtte" fontsize:10 from: 23/04/1954 till: 26/07/1958 color:socialist text:"Van Acker IV" fontsize:10 from: 26/07/1958 till: 25/04/1961 color:catholic text:"G. Eyskens II-IV" fontsize:10 from: 25/04/1961 till: 28/07/1965 color:catholic text:"Lefèvre" fontsize:10 from: 28/07/1965 till: 19/03/1966 color:catholic text:"Harmel" fontsize:10 from: 19/03/1966 till: 17/06/1968 color:catholic text:"Vanden Boeynants I" fontsize:10 from: 17/06/1968 till: 26/01/1973 color:catholic text:"G. Eyskens V-VI" fontsize:10 from: 26/01/1973 till: 25/04/1974 color:socialist text:"Leburton I-II" fontsize:10 from: 25/04/1974 till: 20/10/1978 color:catholic text:"Tindemans I-II" fontsize:10 from: 20/10/1978 till: 03/04/1979 color:catholic text:"Vanden Boeynants II" fontsize:10 from: 03/04/1979 till: 06/04/1981 color:catholic text:"Martens I-IV" fontsize:10 from: 06/04/1981 till: 17/12/1981 color:catholic text:"M. Eyskens" fontsize:10 from: 17/12/1981 till: 07/03/1992 color:catholic text:"Martens V-IX" fontsize:10 from: 07/03/1992 till: 12/07/1999 color:catholic text:"Dehaene I-II" fontsize:10 from: 12/07/1999 till: 20/03/2008 color:liberal text:"Verhofstadt I-III" fontsize:10 from: 20/03/2008 till: 30/12/2008 color:catholic text:"Leterme I" fontsize:10 from: 30/12/2008 till: 25/11/2009 color:catholic text:"Van Rompuy" fontsize:10 from: 25/11/2009 till: 06/12/2011 color:catholic text:"Leterme II" fontsize:10 from: 06/12/2011 till: 11/10/2014 color:socialist text:"Di Rupo" fontsize:10 from: 11/10/2014 till: 31/12/2017 color:liberal text:"Michel" fontsize:10 Living former Prime Ministers See also * List of Belgian monarchs * List of Belgian Prime Ministers by political affiliation * List of Belgian Prime Ministers by time in office * Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region * Minister-President of Flanders * Minister-President of the French Community * Minister-President of the German-speaking Community * Minister-President of the Walloon Region * History of Belgium * Lists of incumbents * Politics of Belgium References Category:Government of Belgium Category:Political history of Belgium Belgium, List of Prime Ministers of Prime Ministers of Belgium Prime Ministers Category:Belgium politics-related lists Category:1831 establishments in Belgium